Kenneth Hayne
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Kenneth Madison Hayne (born 5 June 1945) is a former
Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
of the
High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...
, the highest court in the
Australian court hierarchy The judiciary of Australia comprises judges who sit in federal courts and courts of the States and Territories of Australia. The High Court of Australia sits at the apex of the Australian court hierarchy as the ultimate court of appeal on mat ...
.


Early life and education

Hayne was born in
Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River (Queen ...
, Queensland and attended
Scotch College, Melbourne (For God, for Country, and for Learning) , established = , type = Independent, day and boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Presbyterian , slogan = , ...
. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
, during which time he resided at
Ormond College Ormond College is the largest of the residential colleges of the University of Melbourne located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is home to around 350 undergraduates, 90 graduates and 35 professorial and academic residents. Hi ...
. Hayne was Editor of the '' Melbourne University Law Review''. He then graduated with a
Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Camb ...
from Exeter College,
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. He was also a
Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
. He is the husband of another High Court Judge, Michelle Gordon.


Career

Kenneth Hayne was admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the
Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court comprises ...
in 1971 and was appointed as a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1984.


Judicial activity

Kenneth Hayne joined the bench in 1992 when he was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria. From 7 June 1995 he sat on the Court of Appeal of the
Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court comprises ...
, which is the
highest court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
in the
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n
State State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
of
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
. Hayne was appointed as a Justice of the High Court in September 1997. He retired in 2015 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70, in accordance with Section 72 of the
Australian Constitution The Constitution of Australia (or Australian Constitution) is a constitutional document that is supreme law in Australia. It establishes Australia as a federation under a constitutional monarchy and outlines the structure and powers of the ...
. He was replaced on the High Court by his wife, Federal Court judge Michelle Gordon. Hayne has been described as being a part of a 'core' of judges during his time on the High Court, usually forming the majority, and often writing joint reasons with Justice
William Gummow William Montague Charles Gummow (born 9 October 1942) is a former Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. He was appointed to the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong on 8 April 2013 as a non-p ...
. One notable exception was Hayne's dissent in ''
Thomas v Mowbray ''Thomas v Mowbray'', was a decision handed of the High Court of Australia on 2 August 2007 concerning the constitutional validity of "interim control orders" under the Commonwealth ''Criminal Code''. The case was brought by Joseph Terrence Thom ...
'', where he joined Justice Michael Kirby in holding the Commonwealth's regime of interim control orders applied in respect of suspected terrorists to be unconstitutional. Another, more recent, example is ''Kuczborski v Queensland'' 014HCA 46 in which Hayne J was the sole dissenter.


Royal Commissioner

In December 2017 Hayne was appointed to head the
Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, also known as the Banking Royal Commission and the Hayne Royal Commission, was a royal commission established on 14 December 2017 by the Austra ...
. The inquiry received continual media coverage and the report was delivered on 1 February 2019.


Later public life

In July 2019 (published in early August), in his first public statement since the Commission, Hayne diagnosed an increasing demand for royal commissions as a symptom that " ust in all sorts of institutions, governmental and private, has been damaged or destroyed". In his view, the public sees Australia's “opaque” decision-making processes as “skewed, if not captured” by powerful vested interests, while leaders are “unable to conduct reasoned debates about policy matters” but instead resort to the “language of war” and seek to “portray opposing views as presenting existential threats to society as we now know it”. He noted, in particular, political reactions to the
Uluru Statement from the Heart The ''Uluru Statement from the Heart'' is a 2017 petition by Australian Aboriginal leaders to change the constitution of Australia to improve the representation of Indigenous Australians. The statement was released on 26 May 2017 by delegates ...
. In August 2020, Hayne called upon all sides in politics to end "dialogue of the deaf", as in hyper-partisan conflict over climate change and over the Indigenous voice to parliament proposed in the Uluru Statement. He hoped that the Covid-19 pandemic would encourage governmental institutions to trust the public more with the truth, so that in response the public might have greater trust in them.


Notable judgments

*''
Al-Kateb v Godwin ''Al-Kateb v Godwin'', was a decision of the High Court of Australia, which ruled on 6 August 2004 that the indefinite detention of a stateless person was lawful. The case concerned Ahmed Al-Kateb, a Palestinian man born in Kuwait, who moved t ...
'' 004 indefinite detention of a stateless person *''
Thomas v Mowbray ''Thomas v Mowbray'', was a decision handed of the High Court of Australia on 2 August 2007 concerning the constitutional validity of "interim control orders" under the Commonwealth ''Criminal Code''. The case was brought by Joseph Terrence Thom ...
'' 007 concerning the validity of interim control orders *''
Roach v Electoral Commissioner ''Roach v Electoral Commissioner''Judgement summary
at ...
'' 007 concerning the validity of Commonwealth legislation preventing prisoners from voting *'' HML v The Queen; SB v The Queen; OAE v The Queen''
008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * The Streetwear Brand @008us , inspired by Ian Fleming & Virgil Abloh *"030", the fictional 030 Agent of MI6 * '' 038: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film * '' Explosivo 030'' a 1940 Argentine c ...
relevance and admissibility of evidence, as well as directions to jury. *''
Rowe v Electoral Commissioner ''Rowe v Electoral Commissioner''.''Rowe v Electoral Commissioner''Judgement summaryat High Court of Australia Website. is a High Court of Australia case dealing with the requirement of the Australian Constitution that members of Parliament be ...
'' 010 concerning the validity of Commonwealth legislation restricting the time in which a voter may seek to enrol in an election *''
South Australia v Totani ''South Australia v Totani'' is a landmark Australian judgment of the High Court concerning the extent to which the legislative power of an Australian State is limited by the separation of powers in the Commonwealth Constitution. The High Co ...
'' 010 issue regarding the separation of powers and in particular, parliament directing the courts *'' Australian Electoral Commission v Johnston'' 014/small> (sitting alone as the
Court of Disputed Returns The Court of Disputed Returns is a court, tribunal, or some other body that determines disputes about elections in some common law countries. The court may be known by another name such as the Court of Disputed Elections. In countries that derive ...
) invalidating the Western Australian Senate election from the 2013 federal election


Honours

Hayne received Australia's highest civil honour when he was appointed a Companion of the
Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
(AC) in 2002 for service to the judiciary, to the law as an outstanding scholar, barrister and jurist, and to the community in the advancement of both legal and general education. Hayne is a patron of the ''
Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal The ''Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal'' (''OUCLJ'') is a postgraduate-edited international and comparative law journal from the University of Oxford's Faculty of Law, covering the study of legal trends and developments within and betw ...
''.


See also

*
Judiciary of Australia The judiciary of Australia comprises judges who sit in federal courts and courts of the States and Territories of Australia. The High Court of Australia sits at the apex of the Australian court hierarchy as the ultimate court of appeal on matter ...
* List of Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria


References


External links


Hayne's biography on the High Court of Australia website

Supreme Court of Victoria Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayne, Kenneth 1945 births Living people Justices of the High Court of Australia Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Companions of the Order of Australia Melbourne Law School alumni Australian Rhodes Scholars Australian King's Counsel People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne People from Gympie